


It's Been A While

by theRadioStarr



Series: Lost In Thoughts [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Childhood Friends, Gen, Love at First Sight, Pre-Relationship, even though he doesn't know it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-20
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 08:41:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6604276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theRadioStarr/pseuds/theRadioStarr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not sure how best to explain this, to be honest - just me musing about the first time my Fates [Conquest] husband sees my Unit for the first time. I’ve reworked the dialogue a tad and changed the order appearance of the ‘new units’. As is my tradition in all games except DA, my character is named after myself, but I would hardly call her a self-insert.  </p>
<p>It’s SFW and kind of fluffy. Minor mentions of violence and gore. Very minor Conquest path spoilers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Been A While

“Come on, Elise!” Silas called as he spurred his horse on. He had never been more grateful for all of their extra endurance training. He winced and started to apologize for his disrespect, but she answered before he could.

“I’m riding as fast as I can!” Elise called back, breathless. Her horse protested as she tried to spur it on faster.

Silas thought as he rode about his conversation back at the palace with Prince Xander. It had been brief, and discreet.

 

> _“My sister is in danger.”_
> 
> _“Which one?” His stomach had turned, though, knowing exactly who the crown prince was referring to._
> 
> _“Natalie.” When Silas didn’t answer, Xander continued. “Will you help her?”_
> 
> _Silas nodded. “Anything you need.”_
> 
> _Xander had smiled. “I knew you hadn’t given up on her. Find Elise. Be prepared to ride.”_

That had been it. He’d found her easily in the stables, and there they’d arranged when to meet. They’d been riding hard since to try to catch up. Elise’s retainers had insisted on coming along, but they were considerably slower for being on foot. Once Silas and Elise could hear the sounds of the battle up ahead, they’d left the other two behind.

They would catch up – at least, he hoped they would.

“Do you think Effie and Arthur will be okay?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Poor Arthur has the _worst_ luck!” Elise answered. “But they’re _sooooo_ strong. Especially Effie. They’ll be fine! Besides, Natalie needs us more than they do, and I can’t let anything happen to my big sister.”

Silas smiled and let out an amused huff. She was bright and optimistic, he could give her that, and it was a refreshing change. “Good point. The fighting’s getting louder – I think we’re close!”

“I hope this is them and we haven’t gone the wrong way. What would happen to Natalie if we _did_ get lost?”

“I don’t want to think about it,” Silas muttered in response.

They rode the rest of the way in silence. The din of the battle became distinct sounds of metal clashing, of shouts and screams, and when Silas heard the great roaring, he stopped his horse short.

“What was that?”

Elise’s horse trotted up beside his, its nostrils flared as it tried to catch its breath. “That sounded scary. We have to go help before it eats everyone!”

“Yeah, but let’s take it easy. I don’t want _us_ to end up as dinner instead. At least, not before we can do something to help.” _Not before I get to see her again._

“Good idea.”

The forest edge wasn’t far ahead, and they stopped just inside the shadows to take stock of the field. The battle looked like it had only just started, and already there were bodies littering the field. He saw no sign of their roaring monster, though-

-until he saw _her_.

Feet planted wide, she held a shining stone in an open palm offered up to the sky. It flashed, and suddenly, she wasn’t _human_ anymore, but a _dragon_ (and very small for a dragon, or at least for how he had always imagined them). The dragon roared, and then it settled in like a cat before pouncing, spinning, using its tail like a mace as the spiked end smashed into her enemy.

“Woah,” Silas breathed out unconsciously. He continued to stare, until Elise’s voice broke through his thoughts.

“Big sister!”

The dragon shone again, and then it collapsed into the woman it had been. Her shoulders were hunched over for a moment before she turned to find the source of the shout.

It was as if Silas had suddenly developed tunnel vision; all he could see was her. Even at their distance, he could tell that she was winded. Her shoulders rose and fell the same way they had when she was young, and he could even imagine the colour blossoming on her cheeks.

He had to admit, he’d expected her to have been taller; she only had a few inches at most on Elise. She didn’t move closer, so Elise charged out onto the field. Silas gasped in shock and followed her.

“Hey, Natalie! Over here!” Relief flooded him as he saw her watching him. She was alive – _more_ than alive. She was _vibrant_. He made a relieved noise. “We finally caught up with you. You’re faster than you used to be!”

He could almost make out the way she’d raise one brow at him, but it was hard to tell across the field. “Um, thanks. And you would be…?”

His stomach sank, but he tried not to let it show as he answered. Elise was silent at his side. “It’s me, Silas! It’s been a long time, Natalie. You’re… not much taller.” He laughed, the sound almost giddy. “It makes me so happy to reunite with a childhood friend like this!”

There was silence for a moment. “A childhood friend? I’m really sorry, but I’m drawing a blank…”

Silas drew in a sigh. That certainly explained things. Why had he ever imagined that she would have remembered him? After all, she was a princess, and he was… _not_ a prince. Still, he didn’t want to make her feel guilty. “So you’ve forgotten about me, eh?” Another laugh. “No worries. It’s been ages! We used to play together. You always said how badly you wanted to see the world… So one day, I – hold on!”

One of the monsters she had been fighting was closing in on him. “Elise, get back in the trees!” He didn’t wait to see if she had obliged before darting around one swinging fist and slicing through the monster’s midsection. Mud poured out, and he watched it, fascinated, until its other fist almost unseated him. Pain lanced down his leg as he spun and stabbed again, until the monster screamed and fell, dead.

Elise immediately rushed back to his side, her staff glowing as his wound healed. “Thank you.” He smiled at her before turning back to Natalie. “Where was I? Right – one day, I made us a picnic and snuck you out for a few hours to explore. I even packed your favourite meal – veggie chowder! I knew taking you beyond the walls was forbidden, but…” He could remember the longing look in her eye as she stared out her windows, could see the list she had left out one day of all the places she wanted to experience. “… I also knew how much it would mean to you. The guards tried to execute me when we returned, but you wouldn’t let them do it.”

There was a sudden clarity to her features before another Faceless was upon her. She held her stone high for the transformation, and used the horns on her head this time to shred its stomach before shrinking back to her human form. “It can’t be… Silas?! Is it really you? Of _course_ I remember you! I can’t believe it! It’s been a lifetime since I last saw you. You look so different!”

Silas beamed as pride surged through him. “You too!” Nevermind that he could barely see her properly. “I wanted to visit, but I was banned from ever returning after that. I became a Nohrian knight so that one day I might be able to see you again. Now here we are, in the middle of one of your messes! Just like old times.” This time, when he laughed, she laughed with him. It was musical, he thought, an almost perfect harmony to his own. Or perhaps his was the harmony to hers? “If you will allow me, I would be honoured to fight at your side.”

There was a moment of silence as she kept an eye on the Faceless around her, waiting to see which would spring at her next. “Thank you. You really are a sight for sore eyes!”

“Hey, hold your horses! Natalie! I’m here, too!” Elise sounded absolutely despondent to have not been noticed.

“Elise?!”

Silas heard Elise snort, and tried his best to contain his laughter. But then she giggled. “Of course! That’s what sisters are for, right? No way I was going to let our _handsome_ new knight come to your rescue without me!”

Silas felt heat creeping into his face. “Come on, Elise, let’s get over there.”

The fight was tough; they were both battered and bloody by the time they reached Natalie and Jakob. Effie and Arthur had even managed to catch up to them before they could make it.

Natalie huffed out a sigh of relief once the field was clear. “It appears all the Faceless have finally been dispatched. Good work.”

Silas stopped in his tracks when she turned to look at him. She looked almost exactly the same as she had all those years ago, except… _mature_. There was no doubt that she was a woman, now, and no longer the child he’d known.

She was covered in blood and mud alike, but it simply added to her allure. Her straight hair broke around the odd pointed tips of her ears, the brown colour shining both golden and strangely red in the highlights left by the scant moonlight that broke through the trees. Her eyes were that strange burgundy that he had never seen before, and never since. Seeing her again was like coming home.

Elise cheered, breaking Silas from his thoughts. “We did it! _Go team!”_

He couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t believe we actually won. Amazing! Now to make our way through this forest and on to the Ice Tribe village.”

Natalie smiled at him for a moment, and then frowned as she looked around them. “It’s such a dark forest, though… I hope we don’t lose our way.”

He was about to comment that he could never be lost if he was with her, but Jakob spoke up, and Silas closed his mouth and followed in silence, consumed by his thoughts.

He’d always found Natalie to be cute as children, but now? She really had grown into a beautiful young woman. He smiled brightly as he hopped back up onto his horse.

“I’ve missed that smile.”

He looked down and found Natalie staring up at him, her head at about his horse’s shoulder. “I’ve missed _you,_ ” he answered with a self-conscious chuckle. His stomach fluttered as he watched her walk ahead to catch up with Jakob for a moment.

_Lots of extra adrenaline after that fight,_ he thought to himself as he coaxed his horse to walk, and thought about whether he should offer Natalie the chance to rest her feet and ride with him.

He never did, but the thought of her agreeing was enough for the time being. 


End file.
